Bless The Broken Road
by Winter Sapphire
Summary: When he's not sure where to turn, Peter goes to the one person he can trust. Light Paire, post 4x04.


Title: Bless The Broken Road  
Characters/Paring: Paire, a bit o' Gretchen.  
Rating: PG  
Word Count: 960 with lyrics, 936 without.  
Spoilers/Warnings: Up through 4.04 :)  
Summary: When he's not sure where to turn, Peter goes to the one person he can trust.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes. :(  
A/N: This originally started out as the same scene from Gretchen's POV, but it kinda died and I went with Claire's instead. xD I have mixed feelings about it, but don't I always? xD Written for the "Break" theme at **pairechallenge**, and I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

_This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_  
--Rascal Flatts, "Bless The Broken Road"

Claire paces worriedly through her dorm room, casting furtive glances over to where Peter is standing, staring almost blankly through the window. She can feel Gretchen's confused glances on her back, and though she does feel a _little_ bad at keeping things from her new roommate she can't quite bring herself to divulge the mystery of Peter.

His shoulders are tense, his back tight, and his hands are shoved almost angrily in his pockets. She can see his clenched fists pressing against the fabric of his jeans, and that's the only sign that his otherwise indifferent manner is only a mask.

"Peter?" Claire ventures carefully, taking a step closer to him. He doesn't look at her or say anything--doesn't even shift a _centimeter_ to show he heard her. She frowns.

After nearly a month-and-a-half of not seeing or hearing hide-nor-tail from Peter, Claire had expected their reunion to go... well... like anything other than this. Instead she's treated with colder a demeanor she could have ever imagined on him.

"Peter?" Claire tries again, working up her courage and bridging the rest of the gap between them. She reaches up her hand to touch the back of his shoulder and she can feel him stiffen suddenly before relaxing under her fingers. "Peter, what's going on? What are you doing here? What's _wrong_?"

When Peter finally speaks he's so quiet that Claire's not even sure if she's actually heard him or not; "I don't know what to do, Claire..."

"It might help if you could _talk_ to me about it," Claire prompts gently, pressing against his shoulder insistently when he doesn't respond. "Peter, turn around. Look at me, okay? It's just _me_. It's Claire."

"I don't even _know_ if it's anything, Claire," Peter tells her, his voice sounding so close to its breaking point that it makes her heart ache.

"Peter, just _look at me_," Claire repeats with a huff, her tone somewhere between pleading and annoyance. With a soft sigh Peter tears his gaze from the street below, turning around slowly with a genuine yet strained smile on his face. Claire's hand reaches up to touch his face almost upon instinct. "Please, Peter," she whispers, "at least tell me why you're here."

"I'm just... I'm not sure," Peter admits lamely, shaking his head as he reaches up to place his hand over hers. "I just... I saw Nathan. He came to me and--" he cut himself off, eyes flicking over to Gretchen quickly, as if he had just noticed her presence, before returning to Claire's.

"It's okay, that's Gretchen. She knows," she tells him. "Well, she knows about _me_ anyway," Claire corrects herself instantly. "I haven't exactly gotten around to mentioning you or... anyone else. But it's okay."

Peter nods absently, gaze drifting over towards Gretchen once more before letting out a slow breath. "It's Nathan. He came to see me at the hospital yesterday--he'd been calling me for the past couple of days but I was barely home so I guess he decided to take things into his own hands. He said... he said that something was happening to him, Claire, and then he..." Peter trails off for just a second before finishing, locking his eyes meaningfully with hers. "He used telekinesis, Claire."

Claire's hand drops from his face to her side in surprise. "_What_?" Peter runs his fingers through his hair, shaking his head slowly.

"I don't know. I don't know, Claire. I thought that maybe... with me and my dad, maybe he was just a late bloomer in the multiple-abilities department. But then I had a dream last night--of Nathan being buried and... and popping out of the grave as _Sylar_. When I called Nate this morning he didn't answer and his office said he never came in."

"So you think..." Claire swallows thickly, renewed fear building up in her stomach as she processes his words. "You think Sylar's still..."

"I don't know _what_ to think, Claire," Peter says, smiling softly. "I haven't seen my mom in weeks and as far as I know I can still only hold onto one power at a time. I just... I had a bad feeling in my stomach and I wanted to make sure you were okay. And I'm sorry... I'm sorry I haven't been around as much. I'm going to fix that."

"'Save the cheerleader, save the world'?" Claire repeats the old phrase almost bitterly, but Peter shakes his head fervently instantly.

"No. It's not about the world. It's not even about a _cheerleader_. It's just you, Claire, okay? I want to spend time with you without the fate of the world on our shoulders. For _once_." He settles his hands on Claire's shoulders gently. "I have a feeling something's going to happen again... soon. I want us to have the chance at a relatively normal relationship before we're thrown back into the mix of insanity." He looks a little unsure when his eyes meet hers again. "Is that... okay?"

"Yeah." Claire bobs her head once in agreement, reaching up to brush away a stray tear with the back of her hand before nodding again with more decision. "Yeah, that's... I'd like that," she agrees, reaching around his waist for a hug, and his arms fold neatly across her back in response.

Claire breathes slowly as she rests her head against her hero's chest for the first real time in what feels like months. She revels the feeling of security he always manages to blanket her in no matter how messed up or complicated their lives get.


End file.
